Texas Workers’ Comp Conference to Focus on System Changes

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) will present a two-day educational conference Dec. 4-5, 2006 in Austin. The 2006 DWC Conference will feature presentations by two Texas legislators who played key roles in recent reforms of the workers’ compensation system. Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation Albert Betts and Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin also will speak on the current status of workers’ compensation system regulation in the state.

The 2006 DWC Conference will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 4 and from 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. on Dec. 5 at the DoubleTree Hotel Austin, 6505 IH-35 North. Registration is full for the event with about 500 system participants expected to attend. The DWC is currently planning additional educational conferences beginning in mid-2007.

The 2006 conference will feature more than 20 breakout sessions covering topics which include:
Appeals Panel Update;
Rehabilitation Services for Injured Employees;
Reporting Suspected Insurance Fraud;
Performance-Based Oversight;
Medical Billing and Reimbursement;
System Reforms-One Year Later;
Preauthorization;
Office of the Injured Employee Counsel;
Medical Quality Review Process;
IRO Processes;
Return to Work;
Outcomes and Data Collection;
Designated Doctor Program;
Treating Doctor Compensability Exam;
Complaint Resolution and Enforcement;
Life in a Workers’ Compensation Field Office;
Workers’ Compensation 101;
Medical Dispute Resolution;
Interlocutory Orders;
Disability Management;
DWC Strategic Management Plan; and
Certified Workers’ Compensation Health Care Networks

State Rep. Burt Solomons, chair of the House Financial Institutions Committee and one of the authors of House Bill (HB) 7 passed by the 79th Legislature, will speak during the general session and lunch on Dec. 4. State Rep. Helen Giddings, chair of the House Business & Industry Committee, will speak to conference attendees during a general session and lunch on Dec. 5.

Commissioners Betts and Geeslin will make presentations on the current status of workers’ compensation system regulation in Texas at 8:45 a.m. on Dec. 4. Also, a general session featuring a panel discussion on certified workers’ compensation health care networks will be held on Dec. 5.

For the latest information about the 2006 DWC Conference and other DWC educational seminars for workers’ compensation system participants, go to: http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/wc/seminarsandeducation.html.